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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This book is remarkably deceptive and brilliant. It lulled me into a false sense of security and predictableness, only to politely rip my heart out at the end. I thought I knew what to expect by the beginning: rich people cycling through their friends' countryside estates, amusing themselves by playing cards and gossiping about each other. A few people realize how shallow, dark, and false everything is, and want to leave, but circumstances, one's upbringing, society's expectations, and bad habits prevent it. The book slowly became less like the tidy romance I thought it was going to be, and more and more despairing. Overall amazing, one of those books you reread and hope against hope that it will end happily, pretending there's a chance things could have gone differently, because you care so much for the characters.
I actually read the last 50 pages three times in two days they are so heartrending and perfect. A new favorite - can't believe it took me this long to read it.
Wharton satirizes turn-of-the-century New York society. She creates a character that we should dislike. She's shallow, self-centered, and materialistic. And yet I found myself hoping against impossible odds for a better ending for Miss Lily Bart.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth is going to stay with me for a while. You just don’t see pure tragedy like the story of Lily Bart anymore. Some time in the last few decades, tragedy has been diluted to mean depressingly sad, it seems. But Lily Bart, the protagonist of The House of Mirth, comes to her sad end because of flaws in her character as much as by her circumstances...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Wasn't sure up to about halfway through, kept going just because the conversations with Selden were so compelling and I wanted more of them. Glad I stayed with it because it became so much more than I expected in the second half and just kept developing right up until the end. Didn't expect to like a book from 1905 about high society but I absolutely love it.
If you enjoy reading action & lively plot, then this book is not for you. It's all character. If you enjoy reading about self-absorbed rich people, then this book IS for you. Having been put on a time constraint while reading this, let me tell you I struggled. This book is meant to be absorbed at a slower pace. I hate that I had to begrudgingly force myself to read this when I didn't want to because it dampened my experience of such a book. (It's crazy for me to even think that this was written over 100 years ago...)
The writing style, while slow and hard to follow at times if you aren't used to classic literature, truly is beautiful. There are so many lines you have to go back and re-read 10 times just so you can absorb them. And I found the ending, while tragic, to just be so lovely. I'd say definitely take your time and give this one a chance, if you ever get the opportunity.
The writing style, while slow and hard to follow at times if you aren't used to classic literature, truly is beautiful. There are so many lines you have to go back and re-read 10 times just so you can absorb them. And I found the ending, while tragic, to just be so lovely. I'd say definitely take your time and give this one a chance, if you ever get the opportunity.
What an ending. I'm in shock. It's going to take a while to digest this story.
What can I say? Another great novel whose premise is solely based off of a single verse from the book of Ecclesiastes.